October 12, 2010

What can I say that will make Crème Brûlée even better than it already is? This stuff has got to be one of the world’s top ten most transcendental desserts, right up there with chocolate mousse and Pioneer Woman’s cinnamon rolls.

Granted, the addition of coffee and caramel sure doesn’t hurt.

Wanna know how to make your own batch of this creamy yum-fest?

Grab some coffee beans. I used the dregs of a bag of Starbucks Thanksgiving blend that I had frozen from last year. It’s not gourmet, but it does the trick.

Now toss those beans in a bag and SMASH IT WITH A HAMMA!!!

Did I scare you?

It’s okay, I scared myself a little bit, too.

Next grab some heavy cream…

…and combine it with the crushed coffee beans in a saucepan. Bring that to a simmer, then remove from the heat and let it sit for about 30 minutes.

While that’s steeping, combine granulated sugar and water in another saucepan.

Bring it to a simmer-y boil, taking care not to stir it. Swirling is fine. Stirring is not.

I don’t know why this is.

I didn’t want the Caramel Police to arrest me, so I didn’t rock the boat.

Keep your eye on it and in about 12-ish minutes you’ll have caramel!

Set the caramel aside and toss eight egg yolks into a bowl.

Gently, or you’ll break one like I did.

Add some granulated sugar…

…and whisk it up!

Grab some half-and-half…

…as well as the strained coffee cream…

…and combine it with the caramel, along with the egg yolks.

Place some lovely ramekins in a baking dish…

…and fill them with the coffee-caramel mixture.

Bake ‘em for about an hour, let them chill, and then you’re ready to burn some sugar!

In this case, you’ll be sprinkling the tops with plenty of turbinado sugar.

If you’re wondering about the different ramekins, I found that these deeper ones gave me a better crunchy-topping-to-delicate-custard ratio.

These things are very important, my friends.

Anyway, once you’ve got the tops all sugary, whip out your handy, dandy kitchen torch and go to town!

I heart my kitchen torch.

My birthday’s in six days and I am totally planning on lighting my candles with that thing.

Once the tops are are caramelized, pop these little beauties in the fridge for about 30 minutes so the custard gets nice and cold again. Then just grab a spoon, crack open the sugary topping, and you’re good to go!

Yet again, I’ve been very pleased with a great recipe from Epicurious.com, so I’m just going to send youthere for the recipe.

Go now!

Actually, leave me a comment and say “Hello!” then go check out the recipe.

Wow - you nailed this and it's perfect.My daughter's favorite dessert and her birthday is coming up.... I guess I need a kitchen torch. Sigh. It's always something. Beautiful step-by-step- you've made it all so easy.

@Marisa: I did feel a little bit fussy with only swirling, but I think you're right about the reasoning. :D

@Sheila: Thank you! It's definitely fun to mix things up.

@Hester: Gosh, that stuff is good! hehehe Hope you enjoy it!

@Sasa: Thanks for the tip! It's so good to have an answer for this culinary debacle. :D

@Patty: Cool!!!

@Lora: Thanks! I definitely prefer the more custard/less topping ratio, especially since the custard is more delicate.

@Pattie: It's a rather nice combination! :D

@Kristin: Thank you! I love my kitchen torch. You can use them obviously for creme brulee, but also for meringue stuff like Baked Alaska, or for adding some extra crispiness to just about anything. I've been toying with the idea of using it for smores, too. They're also great for lighting birthday candles! :D